“Of course we’re very happy that we won the bid today, I guess this is an important project for us because we’re developing Arca South so we feel this a very strategic project. And it’s a good project for the country to help declog Metro Manila, so we’re very happy with the result of the bid today,” Alfonso Javier Reyes, Head Transportation and Power Business, ALI-Capital told reporters at the sidelines of the opening of the financial bids.

He added, “The team put a lot of effort into this, so yes, in terms of technical evaluation, we’re quite confident of passing the technical evaluation. I think we should have no problems with the requirements.”

He explained that, “We like to view it as part of the whole, because it is right beside ARCA South, so this will clearly bring a lot of people traffic.”

He also said, “I think we estimate range at full capacity up to 4,000 buses a day and maybe anywhere from 150,000 to 180,000 passengers a day.”

“We expect the project to be financially and commercially viable for us,” Reyes said.

Seamless transfers
Last month, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) received bid documents from Ayala Land and Filinvest Land.

Of the four qualified companies that bought bid the documents for project, only Ayala Land and Filinvest Land submitted the bid documents for the public-private partnership.
The south terminal is expected to give commuters from Batangas and Laguna access to seamless transfers from one mode of transportation to another.

Apart from Ayala Land and Filinvest Land, Megawide Construction Corp. and Datem Inc. were pre-qualified to bid for the project.

The winning bidder will design and build the terminal, as well as operate and maintain the facilities for 35 years.

“Of course we would expect the concessionaire to operate the facility as efficiently as possible to provide the best service to the people would be using this facility, basically the commuters and the bus operators,” DOTC Undersecretary and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman Jose Perpetou Lotilla told reporters.

Lotilla explained that, “As far as we’re concern the government welcomed the lowest bid amount because that’s the amount that going to be paid by the government for these particular services.”

He added, “I think we have a good deal [with]the amount that they’re charging, the good thing about the bidders, being basically firms that are engaged not only in the operation of facilities, both are real estate players so they have as it were an inherently greater interest in participating in a project of this kind.”

He further explained that, “A project like this would actually help even their other businesses because when you provide foot traffic and vehicular traffic in a particular location, then it enhances whatever facilities that they might have for the consuming public.”

When asked about the Notice of Award, Lotilla relied: “Well I just have to check, we want to push it out as soon as possible.”

He added “Normally the minutes will have to be prepared, the detailed evaluation has to
take place, then of course the minutes that would have to be signed by BAC before it would be forwarded to the secretary, that’s the bureaucratic process.”

The DOTC aims to award the project in the third quarter this year so the winning bidder may begin construction by the second quarter of 2016. The terminal is expected to open for business in December 2017.

“Be assured that we will push it out as soon as possible, because we want this facility be made available to our people as soon as possible,” Lotilla said.